Apologies for the brief disruption last week, Jukeboxers, but I return bearing the gift of a double-stuffed column full of babymakers, creepy creepers, club jams, and retro classics. So, if you’ve been wondering “What’s that song?” while watching your favorite shows, we’re here to tell you. Check out our picks and the Spotify playlist below. (Warning for those still catching up on DVR: SPOILERS ahead!)

NASHVILLE (ABC)*The song:Pony Boy, “Trouble”The episode: ”Take These Chains from My Heart” (118)The hook: We’d tell you all about Wednesday’s long awaited hook-up between Rayna (Connie Britton) and Deacon (hello, shirtless Charles Esten!), but we’re still picking ourselves up off the floor post-swoon. While we compose ourselves, click on the link above and listen to singer-songwriter Marchelle Bradanini’s sultry, snaky sexytimes serenade.Read Mandi Bierly’s reaction to the moment

NEW GIRL (Fox)The song: Sublime, “Caress Me Down”The episode: “Virgins” (223)The hook: Tuesday’s flashback-heavy installment was packed to the rafters with lovemakin’ tunes. Ellie Goulding’s exuberant episode ender “Anything Could Happen” was a turning point for Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and Nick (Jake Johnson), but we have to give the edge to Sublime’s hilariously unsexy 1996 track, featuring lyrics such as “I’m hornier than Ron Jeremy,” that played as Winston (Lamorne Morris) lost his virginity to a “businesswoman” – read: hooker – named Mysteria (Lauren Weedman).Read our recap and Q&A with Johnson and showrunner Liz Meriwether, then listen to our first-time TV tunes playlist

THE GOOD WIFE (CBS)The song: Beck, “Black Tambourine”The episode: “What’s in the Box?” (422)The hook: Sunday’s season finale had plenty of highs and lows, including a drowsy, downbeat moment – underscored by Joan Osborne’s contemplative 1995 track “Lumina” – when Will (Josh Charles) and Alicia (Julianna Margulies) resolved to finally figure out their complicated relationship. But it was Beck’s 2005 cut that kept things humming as Cary (Matt Czuchry) and Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) haggled over the terms of her salary, should she take a position at his spinoff firm. Movers and shakers, indeed.Read Breia Brissey’s recap

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (The CW)*The song: The Neighbourhood, “How”The episode: “The Originals” (420)The hook: Walk the Moon’s “Tightrope” got our Twitter fans dancing last night, but last Thursday’s surprisingly good backdoor pilot for TVD’s Originals spinoff was chockablock with great tunes. The National’s mournful, show-closing “Terrible Love” was certainly right in the series’ moody wheelhouse, but an episode set in New Orleans must be all about the party. Along with “Walking Backwards” by Leagues and Caught A Ghosts’ “No Sugar In My Coffee,” Cali indie poppers The Neighbourhood’s Garbage-esque track set just the right sultry vibe for NOLA vamp Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) and his cadre of killers at one of many bloody bacchanals.Read Mandi Bierly’s recap and her chat with star Daniel Gillies about filming in New Orleans, then check out her gallery of Originals pics

GREY’S ANATOMY (ABC)The song: The Boxer Rebellion, “New York”The episode: “Do You Believe in Magic” (922)The hook:Grey’sfave Zola Jesus led off the April 25 ep with her pounding powerhouse “Avalanche.” Closing out last night’s installment, “New York” was no less powerful despite its gentle start. As the docs all face major life changes ahead, Meredith’s closing note that “Most everything can be survived,” plus the song’s steadily building crescendo showed that a gentle climb out of challenging circumstances can be just as effective as wailing and gnashing one’s teeth.Read Samantha Highfill’s recap

HEMLOCK GROVE (Netflix)*The song: Perfume Genius, “Sister Song”The episode: “Forever Howl” (113)The hook: Tweeters were digging Elektrik People’s “Make Me A Bird” from the season finale, but it was Jukebox favorite Perfume Genius’s track – used twice during Hemlock’s run – that caught our attention. First playing in episode 3 as Roman (Bill Skarsgård) washed his sister’s feet – an action Skarsgård somehow made both endearing and creepy – the tune played again at the end of the season finale. (Bonus: Beans and Fatback’s rollicking rocker ”Use Me” played over the credits of episode 4.)Read Jessica Shaw’s review

BONES (Fox)The song:Sarah Blasko, “An Arrow”The episode: “The Pathos in the Pathogens” (823)The hook: Blasko’s minor-key meditation followed up a legit badass moment for Bones (Emily Deschanel) after she injected a corporate baddie with a deadly virus to force his hand in giving up the antidote. As it turns out, Bones wasn’t exactly a straight shooter – she was bluffing that the syringe contained the virus – but she was, as the song says, single-minded in “heading straight for a destiny.”

NIKITA (The CW)The song: Phildel, “Switchblade”The episode: “Self-Destruct” (319)The hook: The London native’s piano ballad about loneliness and blame served as a proxy for Alex’s (Lyndsy Fonseca) mental state last Friday as Nikita (Maggie Q) advised her to let go of her survivor’s guilt so that she could finally, truly start living.

GLEE (Fox)The song: “At the Ballet,” originally from A Chorus LineThe episode: “Lights Out” (420)The hook: Santana (Naya Rivera), Isabelle (Sarah Jessica Parker), Rachel (Lea Michele), and Kurt (Chris Colfer) made for a a fabulous foursome as they performed Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic 1975 Broadway melody. The lyrics may have been about life’s low points, but the background performance by a troupe of ballerinas was positively buoyant – just the touch of escapism that is Glee at its best.Read Samantha Highfill’s recap

NCIS (CBS)The song: Jane Monheit, “I’m Glad There Is You”The episode: “Berlin” (1021)The hook: Tiva fans rejoiceed April 23 when business blurred with pleasure as Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (Cote de Pablo) shared a slow dance to Monheit’s cover of the dreamy 1941 standard. At a Berlin club on a mission track down her father’s killer, Ziva still managed to get swept up in this intimate moment, which was all the more satisfying when Ziva recalled her father telling her as a child, “One day you will dance with a man who deserves your love.”Read Sandra Gonzalez’s post-mortem with de Pablo and Lynette Rice’s behind-the-scenes First Look

THE BIG C (Showtime)The song: William Elliott Whitmore, “There’s Hope for You”The episode: “Quality of Life” (401)The hook: “There is hope for you, but it is much too late for me,” sang the Iowa blueser in this bittersweet ballad. The song hit exactly the right note during the closing moments of Monday’s finale season premiere, playing over a poignant scene when cancer patient Cathy (Laura Linney) watched son Adam (Gabriel Basso) open a stack of birthday presents she’d bought him for years to come, then told Adam she was opting out of chemotherapy in order to fully experience what little time she has left.Read our review

SCANDAL (ABC)*The song: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, “You’re All I Need to Get By”The episode: “A Woman Scorned” (220)The hook: While Jukeboxers on Twitter dug another patented Pope & Associates’ Gettin’-It-Done montage to The Commodores’ “Brick House” last week, it was ironically a moment of inaction that will catalyze Scandal for this season’s final two episodes. After months (years, really) of vacillations, break-ups, and smokin’-hot hemming and hawing, Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) made a decisive, game-changing move away from his calculating wife Mellie (Bellamy Young) and toward the love of his life Liv (Kerry Washington). Gaye and Terrell’s 1968 soul hit put words and music to Fitz’s silent declaration of love and allegiance to Liv as they counted down the clock on Mellie’s ultimatum that she would expose Fitz and Liv’s affair on national news. With that bombshell dropped and the stage set for an explosive stretch, it’s a good thing Liv is all Fitz needs because she might be all he’ll have once the news tarnishes his political reputation.Read Lindsey Bahr’s recap and Sarah Caldwell’s counterargument for Fitz/Liv shippers

THE AMERICANS (FX)*The song:Peter Gabriel, “Games Without Frontiers”The episode: “The Colonel” (113)The hook: An indictment of the childishness of war, Gabriel’s game show-inspired 1980 hit was a pointed choice for the Cold War drama’s first season finale, made even more interesting in light of the cliffhanger that a potential discovery by a child – the protagonists’ daughter Paige (Holly Taylor) – might be the greatest threat the Russian spies have encountered yet. Stay tuned for season 2!

SMASH (NBC)The song: Andy Mientus, “Last Goodbye”The episode: “The Producers” (213)The hook: Kyle, we barely knew ye! Mientus finally showed off his vocal chops to Jeff Buckley’s 1994 alt-rock classic, but it would be his first and “Last” shining moment as the Hit List-er fell victim to a hit-and-run. If there were any chance Smash could make up for how poorly they handled Kyle as a character, this soaring performance was it.Read Hillary Busis’s recap

90210 (The CW)The song: MS MR, “Dark Doo Wop”The episode: “The Empire State Strikes Back” (519)The hook: Continuing the spiral set in motion by a 90210 Jukebox track from last month, Annie’s (Shenae Grimes) decision to air her dirty laundry in print meant fallout for her family – specifically, half-brother Mark (Charlie Weber). Former call girl-turned-salacious novelist Annie was celebrating her New York book release with the gang when police crashed the after party and arrested Mark for cocaine possession. Underneath it all, “Dark Doo Wop” struck a menacing chord with lyrics like “This world is gonna burn… as long as we’re going down, baby you should stick around.” Unfortunately, it seems Annie’s ex Patrick (Chris McKenna), who planted the drugs on Mark, is the one who’ll be sticking around as he exacts his revenge on Annie for exposing him in her roman à clef.

AWKWARD. (MTV)The song: Donora, “Hold My Hand”The episode: “Let’s Talk About Sex” (304)The hook: Creator Lauren Iungerich has said Awkward. is her Sixteen Candles, and Pittsburgh indie pop trio Donora’s ditty embodied a delightfully ’80s vibe Tuesday. When Jake (Brett Davern) and Tamara (Jillian Rose Reed) lost their virginity to each other, let’s just say it wasn’t the coital bliss they’d envisioned. Still, Jake told Tamara, “I’m really looking forward to figuring out this sex thing with you,” then gave her another first – his first “I love you.” There was no birthday cake, but the sweet exchange and the jangling swell of “Hold My Hand” made for a truly lovely moment as high school sweethearts begin discovering each other side by side, hand in hand.

REVENGE (ABC)The song: Sky Ferreira, “Everything Is Embarrassing (Twin Shadow Remix)”The episode: “Identity” (219)The hook: More style than substance, this sexy club cut served as ambient noise when Charlotte (Christa B. Allen) went clubbing mean girl classmate Regina (Seychelle Gabriel), complete with a little girl-on-girl action for a nearby paparazzo. What happens at da club stays at da club, but we’ll take this bouncy jam to go.Read Tara Fowler’s recap

THE FOLLOWING (Fox)The song: Sonic Youth, “Snare, Girl”The episode: “The Final Chapter” (115)The hook: After a super-twisty first season, it’s no surprise Monday night’s Following finale had one last surprise in store – only this twist was that of a knife in the belly of FBI agent Ryan (Kevin Bacon). Thinking he’d vanquished homicidal nemesis Joe Hardy (James Purefoy), Ryan dropped his guard too early and was surprised by an ex – one of Joe’s followers – who’d hidden out in his apartment, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Thurston Moore’s deceptively lulling vocals on the sinuous 1998 tune conveyed the complexity of the moment as Ryan realized he was the one ensnared.Read Tim Stack’s interview with EP Marcos Siega